Mercy
by Kasai-Okasu
Summary: Edit 10/22/10: This is a series of excerpts from the relationship between Tsunayoshi and Hibari. It's always been a fight between these two, but are the reasons so simple?
1. Chapter 1

Hi all. It's been a while since I've done this, so please read and tell what you think of it.

Let's cut to the chase shall we?

Title: Mercy

Summary: The first time Tsuna had been bitten, he had taunted Hibari. He hadn't meant to. The words had just come spilling out of his mouth. One-Shot with dark-ish themes and tuna-masochism (sort of).

Rating: T for masochistic tendencies. And maybe 1827 if you really squint and look at it upside down.

Warnings: This story has a darker masochistic-ish theme in it. Please do not try what is written here.

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and I never will.

* * *

The first time Tsuna had been bitten, he had taunted Hibari.

"Leave, herbivour. Before I bite you to death."

"If you can, Hibari-san."

He hadn't meant to. The words had just come spilling out of his mouth. The disciplinary president had given him a sound thrashing, to say the very least. He remembered how the sky had been amazingly clear and a cornflower blue that day.

His head felt as clear as the sky in that moment.

The second time he had been bitten, he had taunted the other on purpose.

"Herbivore, prepare to be bitten to death."

"That may take a while. I'll need a few minutes."

It had hurt. Oh god, it had hurt. He had been so sure that he had at least broken a rib or two. The bruises were numerous and plentiful, littering his skin with a leopard print of reminders. Hibari had left him on the roof again, staring up at the cloudy sky above. It would rain soon, he was sure.

And yet, the pain of those blows made the sky seem so vast and empty.

The third time he had been bitten, Hibari had looked annoyed.

"You again, herbivore?"

He had smiled an evil, sinister smile. A smile that promised to make his thoughts disappear in a moment of concussion and pain.

"You will be bitten to death."

This time, Tsuna had broken an arm. He had screamed and cried, and oh how he cried. The disciplinary president didn't let up, however. With each blow, Tsuna could physically feel his darker, boggier feelings being squished from his chest.

This time, as he neared unconsciousness, he felt a few drops of blissfully cool rain on his face. For some reason, these drops were salty.

The tenth time Tsuna had been bitten, he had thrown the first punch.

Hibari had walked away from him when he found Tsuna on the roof again.

"What, no biting today, Hibari-san?"

"I do not bite pitiful excuses for herbivores such as yourself."

His fist hadn't even connected with the other boy. Hibari had smashed his tonfa onto his fist. Just a handful of blows, enough to send Tsuna to his knees. His face rested on the warmed cement. Tsuna shivered.

It was chilly as a clouds shadow passed over him.

The next time Tsuna had been bitten, he had learned to dodge.

It wasn't easy, since none of his usual bullies liked to throw punches unless he couldn't escape. He couldn't practice on anyone. Tsuna didn't think about anything else except avoiding those streaks of deadly silver. He still got beaten, but at least this brief moment had lasted longer than the previous one.

A warm pallet of watercolor clung to the sky as he walked home.

Soon after Reborn had shown up, he had gotten the thrashing of his life.

Tsuna had said a lot of things to the ebony haired boy, he was pretty sure. It didn't help that his mind had been unfit to comprehend the phrases and insulting sounds spilling from his mouth like a waterfall. It had been a one-sided conversation, he knew that much. Hibari had leaned against the fence, his arms crossed and his hair covering his eyes.

Hibari had waited with deadly patience until Tsuna's tantrum had dried to dust on the wind. Slowly, ever so agonizingly slowly, the disciplinary head unfolded his arms, revealing shiny metal rods that were about to hurt dame Tsuna.

And they hurt. And they hurt. And they hurt.

And it was just so blue, such a translucent crystalline blue that day.

The day of the ring battle with the Varia, the disciplinary committee head was not at the school.

Tsuna's training on the zero-point break through technique occupied all of his time, but now, with nothing to do, dark ribbons of emotions wrapped around him, strangled him, blinding him. He could feel his throat constrict and his body crack under the force of his doubts and sorrows.

It was oppressing.

He watched as each of his teammates fall to unmistakably experienced blows and rise to meet the next with more fervor than the last. There was a determined and tunnel-visioned gleen to their eyes that Tsuna knew he could not match.

The first time Tsuna remembered being bitten by an adult Hibari, he had come from the past.

Lal had watched from the side lines as the two of them exchanged blows, Tsuna obviously losing. The teenager was covered in purpling swelling blotches and his only jacket from his own time was spotted with blood. Down and beaten, he voiced his thoughts as his vision was edged in a black haze.

"Seems you've gotten weaker, Hibari-san."

"Herbivore."

And they went at it again. And again until Tsuna could not stand on his own feet. The world, this horrible and strange world, dissolved into nothing as Tsuna's eyes closed. He welcomed this with metaphorically open arms. Hibari waited until Tsuna was conscious again before continuing.

Sometimes, Lal couldn't watch the sky.

Being bitten the night before the attack on the Merone base was an accident.

Tsuna had been wandering around the base nearly aimlessly, eyes only for the floor. The adult Hibari had been leaving the training room when Tsuna had entered.

"Sorry, Hibari-san."

"…move, herbivore."

Tsuna had moved, but his all to clumsy feet had nearly made the quarter turn needed to let Hibari through. He had fallen on the man, his tuna charm filled fist landed on Hibari's stomach as it moved to stop his fall.

Hibari had not taken kindly to that. With grace crafted over the years, he allowed the young boy to stand without aid before revealing his tonfas to Tsuna. When the battered teenager stood up again, the tuna charm forgotten under his shoe, he walked back to his room. His eyes looking at the truly clear blue sky that was there only for him to see. Maybe it was mercy that the older man had left the boy able to stand.

Maybe it was mercy.

* * *

Thank you for reading!

Now, if you are so inclined, please review my story. I'd like to find out where I can improve, what people liked about this story, what could have been better, and if people liked this sort of writing style.

Anything is fine really, even if this is a flaming pile of you-know-what, I'd like to know.

Mahalo,

Kasai


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

When Tsuna graduated from Namimori High School, he was afraid.

The world was at his feet and his almost routine life scattered to the wind. The diploma in his hand was like a blank map in a jungle. Mafia boss or no, he was lost.

Like a lost kitten, he wandered the streets of Namimori until he spotted Hibari on the riverbank, Hibird was on the diploma tube as if it were a perch. It was an inexplicably serene scene that drew Tsuna in.

"Hello Hibari-san."

The former prefect spared him only a glance.

* * *

While Tsuna and his guardians lived in Italy, Hibari trained with him occasionally.

Their battles were always severe and destroyed several sites beyond repair. The ground shook with each of their blows, wind gusting from their informal epicenter. It was so frustrating that they were evenly matched. It was as if each bruise accounted for on one, could find its brother on the other. It was a maddening dance that was driving the decimo-to-be batty.

Hibari was holding back.

* * *

Tsuna wasn't losing his mind.

"Hi-Hibari? What are you doing here?"

It was his Cloud guardian for sure, but was his hair always so black? Surely he was a brunette before.

His eyes narrowed. "Herbivore. When did you learn Italian?"

Tsuna didn't know. Or he did know but saying it aloud would make his reality that much more real. He knew the answer, surely?

He replied, "J-just recently, Hibari-san." in his native tongue.

The prefect left swiftly, his footsteps echoing off the walls of the hallway. The soon-to-be boss let his eyes drop to his shoes.

When Hibari told him from the other side of the hall, "Speak Japanese next time, Herbivore." Tsuna really did feel like crying. His mind addled, he continued towards his original destination. The kitchen. The Tenth wondered why this hall seemed so old and worn today. It had been built recently, hadn't it?

He tried to convince himself that this was an unfamiliar hallway. That there was some other hallway he was mistaking this one for. It was a large mafia mansion after all.

That's all it was, surely.

* * *

He had been bitten to death on the day before his eighteenth birthday.

Hibari had walked into the kitchen where he had been eating and, without ceremony, hit him. He'd carefully picked up his face from the grassy lawn where he had landed and was struck again.

For hours, Hibari beat Tsuna and Tsuna tried to block him. It was a testament to how out of it the brunette was that day. It was completely one-sided with devastating shocks all around them. No one tried to aid Tsuna, not even the ever vigilant right-hand man Gokudera. Not even the home tutor arcobaleno.

Each crack from the silver tonfa's deafened the crowd. Deafened Hibari.

"What's that idiot thinking?" Lambo asked.

"Something of the caveman variety, probably." replied his Mist Guardian, his quiet laughter drowned out by the battle.

* * *

When Tsuna's mouse brown hair lightened to a dirty blonde, he blamed the sun.

Most people believed him. He had been spending more time out of the house than in nowadays. Whether to procrastinate or to practice, Tsuna tried to be outside the mansion from sun up to sun down. He had even convinced Reborn to continue his lessons outside.

Hibari had joined him one day. Well, not really joined so much as he was within eye sight of where Tsuna was studying. The two spent much of the day in silence, neither speaking or even acknowledging the other. Tsuna didn't even feel uncomfortable with the other there, as he was sure Hibari shared similar feelings.

"Herbivore," Hibari said in perfect Italian. The Tenth looked up with a small crease in his brow.

"It's Tsunayoshi, Alaude." he corrected. With an air of irritation, the mousy blonde collected his things and strode back to the mansion.

When he was suitably calm, he wondered why his cloud guardian hadn't come after him, like he usually would have.

* * *

There was a big commotion the first time his mother visited him in Italy.

The entire staff was in a tizzy cleaning and decorating the mansion for the _mother of the Vongola Tenth_. Tsuna himself resisted wringing his hands. It had been well over a year since he had seen his mother. How much had changed?

They waited, his guardians and himself, in the foyer when the car pulled up. Escorted by his father and Tumeric, Nana Sawada was as radiant as ever. Each of his guardians greeted her warmly in their own way and she, in turn, greeted them with a warm smile and a hug.

He was the last. That had been intentional on his part, but standing here as everyone stared at the two of them, expectant, he found himself at a loss.

His mind ablaze. He didn't know what to do. All of his well-practiced greetings and posturing as a proud man fled in her presence. It was a swift and sharp nudge in his back that finally propelled him forward. As he managed to squeeze out "Mom" before falling into her arms, everyone else chatted excitedly with manly cooing and warm welcoming smiles.

In that terrifying moment when his mother's soft gaze had turned to him, Tsunayoshi had hardly recognized his mother.

* * *

Tsuna had always been a scaredy-cat.

Years of bullying and little success in many aspects of his schooling had polished him to fear nearly everything remotely frightening. Learning to fight and being in constant danger of being shot had eased his fear of everyday occurrences, to a degree. Back then, what he had feared the most over all was Reborn.

He had learned, after countless battles and making even more friends and comrades, to be more alert than alarmed. It was much less taxing on his heart that way.

And yet, like he had been when he received his high school diploma, he was afraid. The sort of afraid that chilled his bones and weakened his steps. The sort of afraid that invited insecurities that could not be chased out in a crowded room of family, or by a book, or mindless practice.

He was afraid of where his future would take him.

Tsuna had roused this fear after a spar with his storm guardian. The battle had been long and tiring, but with his Hyper Dying Will he was certain of his victory. Like a flash of lightning, the battle ended with his flaming fist centimeters from his right-hand man's chest.

"Good job," Tsuna grunted out. Gokudera commended him for his skill at beating him like a rather lovesick girl, which brought a smile to his boss' lips.

Gokudera never realized how close Tsuna had come to killing him. The soft flames in his opposite hand faded as his guardian jogged away at the call of nature. A shaky breath escaped him.

He felt it, now more than ever. He felt the inky black hands that had blinded him and guided his body without his consent. Tsuna had not been the one fighting Gokudera, the Tenth had been the one to stop. Even now, as a shaky hand carding through his hair, he could feel something in his Hyper Dying Will grappling for control. He couldn't rely on his flames like this. Not when Tsuna had to fight for control every time he did.

"What was that, Herbivore?"

The distinctive drawl had Tsuna looking up to a nearby tree. His cloud guardian was lounging on one of the branches, Hibird on his shoulder. An amused smile crawled on to his lips.

"Honestly, I thought he would have been able to avoid that." he said with a careless shrug. Hibari scoffed.

Without ado or forewarning, the Namimori prefect launched a blow to his head. As he had never left his Hyper Dying Will form, he blocked it with ease. But this battle was short. In his tired state as he battled with his own body, the other boy gave him a strong blow to the head with his foot. The eclipsing darkness was a welcome reprieve.

When Tsuna awoke in the mansion's ward, he would realize many things. Things like how close he had come to killing his friend and how far away the battle seemed at times with those bottomless black hands in control. How he had been on par with his opponent, when previously he had been inferior and how worried he hadn't been for his friend's wellbeing. But most of all, he realized how scared he was of the future.

And like so many times before, Tsuna sought out Hibari on the roof.

* * *

_Well, hello again. Thank you for reading! The first chapter was supposed to be a one-shot, but it seemed like there could be more to it, so..._

_I guess there is an actual plot to this, or alluding to one. I know it's choppy, but I don't really think that adding filler sections of trying to get from scene A to scene B will be all that interesting. It might be, but this is sort of a starter story to get me back into writing, so please bear with me._

_I do hope you will review my story. I'd like to hear what other people think of it. But if not, I hope you enjoyed it!_

_Much love,_

_Kasai_


	3. Chapter 3

Hey look, another update. As you can see, my writing style has not real consistency to speak of, so I apologize for that. But on to other things,

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or Lord of the Rings. But they are fun to mess with.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

* * *

At some point, Reborn had become a permanent fixture in the mansion.

It was almost nostalgic with Reborn's morning greetings and strange costumes that still seemed to fool most people. It was in Tsuna's fond opinion that the others were playing along.

"Dame-Tsuna," Reborn greeted one afternoon. "Do you remember the Vongola history?"

It took a moment, but the Decimo nodded. Hours of being drilled on the finer points of the mafia family history wasn't easily forgotten. Especially at gun point.

"Is that so?" the Arcobalerno started, clearly disagreeing, "Then on what day did the Primo pass on?"

An easy question.

"Christmas."

An easy answer.

* * *

"Hibari-san," Tsuna called out from the window. The former prefect sat perfectly poised on the shingles of the roof, never mind the deadly drop naught five paces from him.

Tsuna sighed but crawled out the window and next to the man. He hugged his knees, valiantly avoiding the sight of the edge of the roof.

The weather was nice for a May afternoon. The sun greeted the newly budding leaves and a cool wind tugged both of them gently towards the edge. Tsuna hugged his knees tighter, trying to find a little more warmth in his fancy suit. They sat listening to the _whoosh_ of the wind and the few birds greeting their new chicks.

Time slipped by slowly, ever so slowly.

And it was nice. For the first time that Tsuna could remember, he was on the roof with Hibari-san and not getting beat up. A small laugh parted his lips in a smile, soon to be caught and dragged away by the cool breeze.

"What's so funny, Herbivore?" Hibari asked, no ordered to be informed about. Another pleasant moment passed and Tsuna laughed again at the still novel feeling.

"Ah, sorry Hibari-san." he apologized, still smiling sincerely. "I came up here to wish you a happy birthday."

A sound of acknowledgement flitted through the air. It's cool caress like a loving kiss.

"Prepare yourself, Herbivore."

"Huh-"

_Thwack!_

Spoke too soon.

* * *

Something terrible happened when Tsuna met Byakuran again.

There really was no other way to describe it. Meeting your former enemy, all smiles and marshmallows, as if nothing had changed. Honestly, since their 'return' from the future, nothing really had. Those battles in the future were now merely memories and a prophecy that would never happen. The marshmallow addict lounging in his office doing his homework was the quintessential example.

"Ah, Vongola-san," he greeted. "I was wondering when you would arrive."

Tsuna considered many questions about this man's presence, mostly about his own supposed security and the man's memories, but instead he said, "You look comfortable, Byakuran."

"Aah, so I am." he smiled, sliding around on the couch till he could see the mafia boss properly over the armrest.

Tsuna kept an eye on the college student as he walked across the room. The tattooed college student certainly looked strange without his Millefiore uniform. The casual autumn attire he wore and the blue clips that attempted to tame his wild white mane seemed to make the overwhelming presence of the man shrink. He looked so _normal_.

Byakuran commented, "It has been a while, Vongola-san. You seem to be doing very well for yourself. Much better than the last time around."

"You as well, Byakuran." he said, then questioned, "How did you retain your memories? I was told that only a select few would remember that time."

"Now now, I don't kiss and tell." the almost mafia boss wagged one finger like he was scolding an incorrigible child.

"You really shouldn't be here, Byakuran." Tsuna stressed. "After what happened, I doubt I could trust your complacency to be good will."

He chuckled. "Nonsense, Vongola-san. With that hyper intuition of yours, you should know very well that I have no desire to attempt such a thing again." And Tsuna did know very well, but that did not put his mind at ease. He told him as much.

"I've found your company much more entertaining than playing mafia ever was," Byakuran explained.

The college student had an enigmatic and endearing smile across his face. The kind of vulpine smile that smelled of magic and mischief. Tsuna, already resigned to the man's company, engaged him in some light conversation. There were a lot of things about the man that he was curious about and what time is better than the present?

The white haired man rested his head in his arms, facing Tsuna and said, "Lets play a gama, Vongola-san."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow, "A game?"

"A game of truth. The rules are very simple, you and I cannot lie to each other." he said in a playful tone. "Lie, and you lose. If you lose, you forfeit your life to me and vice versa. Obviously not answering is not considered lying, nor is saying 'I can't tell you'. How about it, Vongola-san?"

Tsuna considered the proposition. It was certainly a dangerous game with a most cunning and shrewd opponent. Little dame-Tsuna wanted to refuse and hide until this storm passed. And yet, his intuition was telling him to accept.

So he agreed.

Byakuran's smile grew a little more. "Game start."

Over the next couple of weeks, he found out that Byakuran was studying in Italy for an exchange program. He was studying for a degree in business and foreign affairs in an American college. The man's obsession with marshmallows had no real reason, like his tattoo and his appearance in Tsuna's office; Byakuran had been bored, so he had decided to try new things. He had come to Tsuna's office to do some studying in more interesting company than that of his colleagues. And, no, he wouldn't try to kill Vongola-san again. What a silly idea.

Byakuran had also wheedled things out of Tsunayoshi. Like how most of his days were spent on paperwork, what he had had for dinner, and other small tidbits about his life as a mafia boss. Byakuran listened to him regale a story about the last disaster in the house, where Mukuro had seen fit to trick Gokudera into thinking that every person in the mansion was Tsuna giving the bomber praise. There was a companionable air in the room that had both of them smiling and chatting about nothing at all.

It was a couple hours after they had sat in silence, each doing their work, when Lambo entered the room with more papers. The poor coward ran from the room bellowing about an attack. It was in this frightened confusion that the security was notified of Byakuran's presence and the college student decided to head back for the day.

It was all 'trust me' and 'I'm fine' and 'I know what I'm doing' and reassuring smiles for a while until the majority of his family was a bit more appeased. Tsuna finally left his office, tired and wound tight, and found his cloud guardian at a window in a hallway as he gazed at the night sky.

"Tsunayoshi." Hibari greeted first.

A heavy silence fell upon them as Tsuna tried to grasp his bearings. His world was falling more and more askew with each passing minute!

"H-Hibari-san." Tsuna replied stiffly. "Ah… Good evening." There was something fundamentally wrong here. What was going on? Tsuna was so confused.

Seemingly satisfied, the former prefect "hn"ed a little and walked past Tsuna. Curiosity and confusion storming, Tsuna grabbed the man's jacket.

"Wait."

Thoughts were racing around his head on rusty train tracks. About how Hibari had just addressed him. About why he grabbed his guardians jacket like a clingy child. About how he knew he shouldn't ask, but, damn, it bothered him. About why it bothered him. About why Hibari was here. About if he had been waiting. About why he had just started treating Tsuna like he had a _name._ About what that meant. About what had changed his mind. About _why._ About why him. About- About …

About why he, himself, felt so confused and confused and confused.

And there, on the edge of his vision, deep black hands awaited him.

And Hibari again said, "Tsunayoshi" and all those thoughts raced right off those tracks into a never ending abyss. He tightened his grip, blunt nails scraping the fine fabric and he said,

"It's Herbivore, Hibari-san."

* * *

Reborn knew it was risky. As did Timoteo.

The Bovino family had been very explicit in their warnings when they had asked them about the research put into the ten year bazooka. Their findings were strict and definitive. And yet-

It was the only chance they had at getting answers.

* * *

There was a large painting of the Primo in the boss' office.

The man's large façade overlooked the entirety of the room, as if the man had never stopped being boss. There were burn marks and imperfections on the canvas; battle scars from battles long since fought. Tsuna wondered if it was possible to destroy it or if it was like "the ring" from _Lord of the Rings_. He doubted there was a hobbit nearby to take it.

Did that make him Smeagle?

The painting certainly was precious. He had a feeling that if the mansion was ever compromised, he would do his best to save the painting. The last picture of the Primo deserved as much.

"It's just a painting, Vongola-san," Byakuran pointed out from Tsuna's chair. "Nothing compared to the real thing."

Yes well, it was precious to the entire Vongola family. Tsuna lightly touched the painting, feeling the cool touch of a hand on his.

_My precious._

He didn't turn around.

* * *

Sometimes, Tsuna would train by himself.

In the dead of night he'd go down to one of the new training rooms, the large cement ones that reminded him of the almost-future ones he had trained in. He would spend hours just going through exercises, one flowing into the next.

Sometimes, if he was feeling particularly foolhardy, he'd take one of his hyper dying will pills. And then he'd go through his exercises again with more precision and grace than he had before. Here, he could fool himself with this drug induced calm that those black hands that held him like fine china and that hot stare at the back of his neck were parts of his paranoid imagination.

But then, in that single moment where he had deluded himself into believing that sweet lie, fingers that were deep and dark as the deep sea sprung forth, impeding his sight and guiding him gently, gently.

_A soft coo in his ear_ and he trusted those large hands.

_A gentle touch tugging at his glove_ and he followed obediently.

"Herbivore," and he could see again.

"Hibari-san," he would greet, smiling.

* * *

When the Halloween rolled around, Mukuro had begun to cling to Tsuna.

At first, it wasn't all that strange. His illusionist was, after all, quirky like the rest of his guardians, enemies, friends, and family. It was not uncommon for him to shirk his work to bother someone.

But this was getting strange.

Aside from Reborn, the three people who Tsuna was most frightened of were in his office. Byakuran and Mukuro were making small talk as Hibari read a book on the opposite couch. Tsuna didn't know _why_ they had all gathered in his office, but he was sitting on the edge of his seat, waiting for something to explode.

"Oya," said Mukuro. "Shall we play a trick on Tsunayoshi-kun?"

Byakuran returned his vulpine smile and said, "Yes, let's."

_This must be an illusion_.

In a blink, they were both gone. His cloud guardian looked like he was asleep. It was kind of funny to think that the ever vigilant Hibari-san would be asleep in the presence of Mukuro and Byakuran.

In another, Tsuna tensed when large hands covered his eyes. The darkness felt like a flood and he wanted to scream.

_It's happening again!_

It's happening again!

But the warmth. The warmth of these hands were new, nothing like those cold ones he was so familiar with.

"_Boo!_"

* * *

When Tsuna found the former Namimori prefect lounging on the roof again, he was reminded of his first encounter with the man.

"_Leave, herbivore. Before I bite you to death."_

"If you can, Hibari-san." Tsuna greeted the man's younger self with a whisper. As if by some strange magic, Hibari got up from his seat and faced his boss, petrifying Tsuna.

"You again, Herbivore?" Hibari asked. It was obvious that he was talking about the day before, but the feeling of nostalgia kept the mousy man's mind back on their old school's sun-warmed roof.

The stoic man's face twisted into an evil, sinister smile. _A smile that promised to make his thoughts disappear in a moment of concussion and pain._

"_You will be bitten to death." _he said, a silver tonfa poised.

It _hurt_. Oh god, how it hurt! Each blow made his knees buckle and when he looked up, another was there to meet him. Something cracked and Tsuna screamed and screamed and sobbed. He struggled and stood and fell and cried and Hibari would wait for him, patiently, to stand before striking him again. The air was full of the whistling of Hibari's strikes.

Tsuna spent hours afterwards staring at the sky. It was so clear and blue, much clearer than he had seen in a long time. All those twisted worries and sticky thoughts that had raked his nerves to fine dust fell into the fathomless sky. For once, he felt unencumbered of his hallucinations, his insanity. He felt _normal_.

Hot salty tears stung his eyes and created burning tracks all the way to his ears. A sob shook his bruised body and he laughed at the feel of it. He was beyond hearing as he laughed and bawled. It was amazingly cathartic to cry like this, like he had in his mother's lap as a child. He cried out of pity for himself and laughed at his weakness. He choked on his helplessness, his hopelessness. All of his anger, his fear, his self pity, his despair, all of it slowly evaporated from him. He felt his indignation at the world leave him with each tear and each whimper.

He wasn't the Vongola Decimo right now, nor was he the responsible man he had learned to become. Right now, lying on that warm roof, he was still little Dame-Tsuna.

When his tears dried, he felt contently void of emotion. A hand that shouldn't exist snaked to his, entwining their fingers. Reluctantly, Tsuna closed his eyes, letting darkness cradle him. He felt a thumb caress the back of his hand slowly, almost absentmindedly.

_Lovingly_.

And he called that hand by name.

"_Giotto_"

* * *

Tsuzuku

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter! If you would be so kind, could you please review? Be brutal. I'd really like to improve and write better and better stories.

-Kasai


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